


where did we go (what did we do)

by qwertynerd97 (Daffidill23)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Everybody Lives, Harry Potter is Not a Horcrux, Horcrux Hunting, Horcruxes, Marauders Era (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 16:35:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17646377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daffidill23/pseuds/qwertynerd97
Summary: 15-year-old Peter Pettigrew plus a Horcrux is probably a bad combination.  15-year-old Peter Pettigrew plus a Horcrux is probably a recipe for a worse disaster then canon.... Or maybe not.  After all, Peter Pettigrew of any age gravitates towards the most powerful people in his environment, and 15-year-old Peter Pettigrew knew that the Marauders were the most powerful kids at Hogwarts.





	1. i think we found something entirely new

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Buried Treasure](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17635544) by [imaginary_golux](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginary_golux/pseuds/imaginary_golux). 



Here’s the thing about Peter Pettigrew: he gravitates towards those with power. In one universe, this trait leads him to betray his friends to the Dark Lord when they are 21, hoping to side with the winners.  
When he’s in school, though, the Marauders are the power to which he gravitates. Between James Potter and Sirius Black, the Marauders have two of the most influential pureblood heirs; they are a force to be reckoned with.  
And in their 5th year, the Marauders are the closest they’ve ever been. They’ve just completed their Animagus transformation, and are still riding the high of hanging out with a transformed werewolf in their animal forms.  
All this means that when Sirius drags a Dark artifact back from his cousin’s wedding, Peter is much more interested in the potential applications for the Marauders’ Map than he is about who it belongs to. He dives into research alongside James, Sirius, and Remus, and tries not to flinch too hard at the grotesque images in the Darker books. He traces out the layers of spells surrounding the diary; Arithmancy is one of the strengths he brought to the group.  
And when, after a year of research, the Marauders figure out that it’s a Horcrux, Peter’s immediate thought is to get as far away from it as possible. James thinks they can find a way to destroy it, though, so Peter sticks with them for another year of research, and is rewarded with the sight of Sirius conjuring perfectly controlled Fiendfyre to destroy the diary after their sixth-year finals.


	2. and it wasn't quite me and it wasn't quite you

In another world, seventh-year is when the Marauders start to drift apart. Here, the demand of N.E.W.T schedules, James’ courtship of Lily, and Sirius and Remus’ relationship threaten to do same. In every world, Peter sees Regulus Black sneak out of the Forbidden Section with a Dark tome, but in this world, he remembers that book from all the Horcrux research.  
Peter runs to tell the other Marauders, and together the four of them confront Regulus about the book. Between Sirius’ threats and James’ cajoling, the four boys learn about another Horcrux, hidden in a cave. And this time, they know the owner: the Dark Lord.  
If ever Peter was going to turn traitor, this would be the moment. But here in the warm light off Hogwarts, with Sirius towering furiously over his brother, James’ eyes alight for the adventure, and Remus’ mind ticking away at plans, Peter is convinced that the Marauders can do this. They have a chance to beat Voldemort.  
So, with a little bit of finagling, Regulus agrees to help the Marauders. He starts hanging out just for research but winds up spending more and more time with them, as the wannabe-Death Eaters that were his friends fall away.  
And Peter makes two discoveries. First, he realizes that he is not a fringe member of the Marauders. When he sees how Sirius and the others treat Regulus and then compares it to how they treat him, he notices that his opinions are valued, that his time is sought out.  
Secondly, Peter has someone who will empathize with his fear of survival. When Peter begins worrying about the potential dangers of a plan, Regulus will pipe up and offer his concerns too. No longer is Peter the sole voice of doom, and it’s reassuring.  
This new knowledge ties the Marauders together even tighter than before. On the last Hogsmeade trip of their senior year, all four move as one unit, perfectly prepared to take out another Horcrux.  
Sirius summons Kreacher, who Apparates all four boys to an ominous dark cave. James slices his hand to provide the blood sacrifice for the door. On the other side, Peter reels in the boat, and Remus steps aboard, followed by a Grim and a deer with a rat riding its antlers. The four ride across the eerie lake unaccosted, and the three Animagi de-transform when they reach the island.   
The four inspect the cauldron filled with an unknown potion for bare moments, and then Remus reaches for the cup and begins to drink. As the potion-level falls, Remus looks more and more nauseous, but whatever ill effects the potion might have contained were clearly not designed with werewolves in mind. As the last drop vanishes from the cauldron, Peter darts his hand in and grabs the locket laying at the bottom. Remus begins puking, and the cauldron refills, but the Marauders have the prize they came for.  
They all head back into the boat as Inferii begin rising from the surface of the lake. James fends them off as they come, his antlers spearing one after the other. Remus lays low in the boat, curled up beneath Padfoot, with Wormtail doing his best to cling to both the locket and his fur.  
The Marauders make it to the shore and beat a hasty retreat from the approaching waves of Inferii. The four exchange a glance, and then Peter darts forward, laying the locket at the shore’s edge. Moments later, with Peter safely back with the group, Sirius’ Fiendfyre roars out devouring locket and Inferii in one fell swoop.


	3. i think it was someone entirely new

After graduation, Dumbledore approaches a handful of like-minded students, including the Marauders. He offers to let them join his Order of the Phoenix, a group dedicated to fighting Voldemort. The Marauders, along with many of their Gryffindor and Hufflepuff classmates, join up. At the first general meeting, they share the information about the two Horcruxes they have destroyed, and Dumbledore pales.   
Over the course of the next two years, the Marauders become a crack team for the Order of the Phoenix. They deal with a third Horcrux, extracting Hufflepuff’s cup from the Black vaults in Gringotts, and wreaking havoc on the Death Eater whenever they clash. They run a double wedding, James and Lily married alongside Remus and Sirius, and extract Regulus from Grimmauld place when it becomes too dangerous for him to continue spying.  
There is one moment where Peter thinks, however briefly, of changing sides. It is in the wake of a terrible battle with the Death Eaters; a large chunk of the Order was wiped out in one pass. But at the next meeting, Dumbledore adds Ravenclaw’s mangled crown to the list of destroyed Horcruxes, and Peter’s resolve firms.  
But Voldemort still has his spy’s within the Order, and he finds out about the Horcrux hunt. And so, when the Marauders arrive at the Gaunt shack to deal with yet another Horcrux, Voldemort and his forces are there waiting for them. In the chaos of the battle, no one notices as Peter shrinks down, and certainly, no one cares about a small grey rat, scurrying towards the safety of a beaten down shack.  
Peter makes it inside the Gaunt shack, and, in his rat form, is nimble enough to evade all of the various traps within. He follows his nose to the place where the smell of rotting flesh is the worst and finds a loose floorboard that he levers up. Inside, there is a ring, layered in half a dozen Dark curses. It gives off a faint maliciousness that is familiar to Peter now, with three Horcruxes dead by Marauder hands.  
He leaves the ring there, lowers the floorboard back down, and darts out of the shack. He tracks down Sirius before de-transforming. Back-to-back, the two fend off Death Eaters, and in a breath between spells, Peter whispers his findings to Sirius.  
On the next downswing, Fiendfyre blooms from the end of Sirius’ wand and arcs towards the Gaunt shack. In mere moments, the whole shack is ablaze, and the Marauders regroup at the center of the battlefield. They carve a path through the Death Eaters, hoping to escape now that their job is done. The Death Eaters part under the combined onslaught, but Voldemort blocks their escape, his face twisted in fury.  
When they retell the story for the Order of the Phoenix, hours and days later, none of them knows who to credit for the killing blow. Dumbledore was working under the assumption that Voldemort had six Horcruxes, and the Marauders were war-worn duelists, not teenagers fresh out of Hogwarts. Thus, when faced with what they thought was a currently-immortal foe, not one of the four hesitated to use deadly force. Four overpowered cutting curses struck Voldemort at the same time, and as the blinding flash of white light fades, Voldemort lies dead on the ground.


	4. Epilogue

A young Harry Potter stands in the middle of Platform 9 and 3/4s, marveling at the train that will take him to Hogwarts. All around him, people point and stare, speaking in hushed whispers as they look in his direction. Harry takes a deep breath, and two hands fall comfortingly upon his shoulders. He glances back and sees his mom and dad smiling proudly at him. Behind them, Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius are rifling through his luggage one last time; Remus makes sure he’s got all the school supplies, while Sirius shoves last minute prank equipment in. Uncle Peter ducks out from behind Dad, and crouches down next to Harry. He pulls a book out of his bag, and hands it to Harry right as the trains whistle blows. Harry grabs his luggage and books it to the train, grabbing the first empty compartment and dumping his stuff on the seat. He leans out the window to wave goodbye to his family, and Uncle Peter’s book falls open on the seat behind him, turned to a well-worn page on Animagus transformations. **All was well.**


End file.
